Various groups in Kenya talked on Twitter Spaces on July 7, 2022 to discuss the online violence women journalists are going through as they report on elections. Less than a month before the elections, there has been a surge in online violence against female journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IAWRT Kenya member Cecilia Maundu served as the host\/moderator and Toepista Nabusoba served as one of the panelists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs journalists, we\u2019re increasingly expected to have an online presence and engage on social media, which puts us at risk of abuse. And now, with Kenya heading toward the elections, odds are high that attacks against journalists\u2014online and off\u2014will escalate. Abusive trolls join forces to send hateful messages, impersonate, hack accounts, and publish sensitive personal information, also known as doxing. Their ultimate goal is to intimidate, discredit, and silence journalists and undermine press freedom,\u201d shared Maundu on the situation that prompted the discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said that despite this, there are concrete steps each of us can take to protect ourselves and fight back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJournalists need to be provided with resources to help protect their digital identities,\u201d added Maundu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n